1 T hen answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

2 S hould a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

3 S hould he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?

4 Y ea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.

5 F or thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.

6 T hine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.

7 A rt thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?

8 H ast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

9 W hat knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?

10 W ith us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

11 A re the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?

12 W hy doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,

13 T hat thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?

14 W hat is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

15 B ehold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.

16 H ow much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;

18 W hich wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:

19 U nto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.

20 T he wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.

21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

22 H e believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

23 H e wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

24 T rouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

25 F or he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.

26 H e runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:

27 B ecause he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

28 A nd he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.

29 H e shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.

30 H e shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.

31 L et not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.

32 I t shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.

33 H e shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.

34 F or the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.

35 T hey conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.